Maurice Koechlin (8 March 1856 – 14 January 1946) was a

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

- Swiss structural engineer from the

Koechlin family The Koechlin family is an Alsatian family which acquired its wealth in the textile industry and became leading industrialists and politicians of the region. Early family history The first traces of the family can be found in 1440, when Johann Koe ...

Life

A member of the renowned Alsatian

, he was born in Buhl, Haut-Rhin, the son of Jean Koechlin and his wife Anne Marie (Anaïs), née Beuck. He was the first cousin once removed of André Koechlin, and the great-grandfather of actress

Kalki Koechlin Kalki Koechlin (; born 10 January 1984) is a French actress and writer who works in Hindi films. Known for her unconventional body of work, she is the recipient of such accolades as a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award, and two Screen Awar ...

. When France lost the Franco-Prussian war to Prussia in 1870/1871 the entire Koechlin family decided to become citizens of Switzerland and thus dropped French citizenship. After the defeat of the German Empire in 1918, however, the Koechlin family again applied for French citizenship. Maurice attended the lycée in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, then between 1873 and 1877 studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

at the Polytechnikum Zürich under Carl Culmann. In 1876 he became a citizen of Zurich ("''Zürcher Bürger''") Between 1877 and 1879 he worked for the French railway company "''Chemin de Fer de l'Est''". Much of his work was done for

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

's "Compagnie des établissements Eiffel", which Koechlin joined in 1879. In 1886 Maurice married Emma Rossier (1867-1965). They had six children: three sons and three daughters. Maurice and Emma were lifelong members of the Plymouth Brethren. In 1887 he started work on his plans for the "''Tour de 300 mètres''" in Paris, along with his younger brother Henri Koechlin and civil engineer

Émile Nouguier Émile Nouguier (17 February 1840 – 23 November 1897) was a French civil engineer and architect. He is famous for co-designing the Eiffel Tower, built 1887–1889 for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France, the Garabit viaduct, th ...

. Maurice Koechlin became the Managing Director of Eiffel's company when Eiffel retired from the engineering profession in 1893. The company was renamed ''Société de construction de Levallois-Perret''. Maurice Koechlin died in 1946 in

Veytaux Veytaux is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The Chateau of Chillon provides a view of the entire Lake of Geneva located in Avenue de Chillon. History Veytaux is first mentioned in ...

, Switzerland in a house built by himself in 1900."Zum Tode des schweizerischen Erbauers der "Tour de 300 mètres" Maurice Koechlin"
''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'', 1110 (1946), retrieved 2013-08-11 (in German)

Major designs

Major structural designs include: *

Garabit viaduct The Garabit viaduct (french: viaduc de Garabit) is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride, Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region. The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffe ...

, (1880–1884); *Armature for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') - in collaboration with

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthold ...

, (1884); and *

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

, (1887–1889).

Honours and legacy

*Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Descendants

, an actress, through her father Joël, is a descendant of Maurice Koechlin *

Pedro Koechlin von Stein Pedro Koechlin von Stein is a Peruvian politician and entrepreneur. He was With Force Peru's presidential candidate for the 2006 national election. He received 0.3% of the vote, coming in 11th place. His politics is centered on environment-frie ...

, a businessman in Peru (owner of

Wayra Peru Wayra is a technological innovation hub, which was started in Latin America and Spain in 2011 as an initiative of Telefónica's chief executive in Europe, José María Álvarez-Pallete. Wayra operates through 11 hubs in 10 countries within Telefón ...

)

Bibliography

* * * * (in German) * (in German) * (in German and French)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koechlin, Maurice 1856 births 1946 deaths People from Haut-Rhin French Plymouth Brethren French civil engineers Structural engineers ETH Zurich alumni Officiers of the Légion d'honneur